Soft-Lite partners with AWDI to reach energy saving goalsPRWebIn an effort to reduce its environmental impact, Soft-Lite Windows has partnered with the American Window & Door Institute to ensure that the company meets the new Energy Star standards for 2015. Soft-Lite has contracted the use of AWDI's WIXSYS Portal Solution, which according to the company will offer its dealers a comprehensive library of on-line installation instructions, required for all Energy Star-labeled doors and windows, beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

An Ohio replacement contractor sold an additional $7 million in 2013 without spending additional money on marketing or leads. In this special report, they reveal how they increased revenue and lowered costs. “It’s really an unfair advantage… but we’d be crazy not to do it.” They open up their books, share their numbers, and prove how they boosted sales by 41%. See How They Did It

Install the secret passageway you've always wanted with the Murphy DoorDigital TrendsOn the list of awesome things you can put in your house, we can all agree that secret passageways are pretty high up there. It doesn't matter if you're 6 or 65 — The floor plan for your "fantasy house" undoubtedly has a couple hidden doorways in it.
But here's the thing — you don't actually have to hold out for your fantasy house in order to get a secret passageway anymore. Thanks to Utah-based furniture company Murphy Door, you can easily install a hidden doorway in your house right now, without having to win the lottery and build a custom-made mansion with your winnings.

Construction industry building toward a strong finish for 2014By Michael J. Berens After a disappointing third quarter, the construction industry regained momentum in October, with signs pointing to continued growth in the months ahead. Indicators were up across the board, including employment figures, with most areas of the industry reporting notable year-over-year increases. Early forecasts are that 2015 will look even better. If the economy continues to improve, some categories — such as commercial and residential — could see double-digit increases in the year ahead.

A guide to optimizing your social media marketing campaignForbesWe often hear about website and search engine optimization, but social media optimization hasn't quite made it into the mainstream vernacular. Whether you've heard the term or not, you may already be optimizing your social media posts every day.
One of the main goals of social media optimization is to increase awareness of your business or products using social media, and it has many benefits. This means making your content as shareable as possible by focusing both on industry best practices as well as what's worked for you in the past.

How better glass can save hundreds of millions of birds a yearNational GeographicWe may be embarrassed to admit it, but we've all done it: run headlong into a window or sliding glass door that we just didn't see. People usually escape with only a bruised ego. But when birds smack into windows, the results can be deadly. In fact, as many as 600 million birds die in window collisions in the U.S. and Canada every year, scientists estimate. We may hear only the occasional thump as a sparrow or robin crashes into our home or office window, but they add up.
These collisions kill more birds than oil spills or pesticides do, says Daniel Klem Jr., an ornithologist at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The 2-step process for excellent customer serviceEntrepreneurIf you have anything less than exceptional customer service in your business, you're wasting the time of, creating extra work for and frustrating your frontline people, other staff, managers and yourself — and that's poor management.
Here's how customer service training happens in most businesses. With the best of intentions, the business owner has a "rah rah" meeting about customer service, and the service improves for a few weeks, and then, without reminders, you're back where you started.

Green building regulatory trends drive plastics useBy Don Rosato The construction and operation of buildings has a significant impact on the environment. In the U.S., buildings account for 39 percent of total energy consumption and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Buildings also use a tremendous amount of natural resources to construct and operate. Constructing green buildings that consume resources more efficiently has become one of the primary goals in the industry. In turn, this will minimize pollution that can harm renewable natural resources that are crucial to a sustainable future.